Mission of the Art of Pastoral Care Course

To introduce people to the Healing Presence within them that they might be empowered to extend care to others with care and compassion.

Purpose of the Art of Pastoral Care

The purpose of the AoPC is to instruct and empower caregivers in the art of pastoral care and presence; to empower and prepare people to provide pastoral care ministry competently and compassionately; to graduate pastoral care specialists who are trained to work professionally and collegially with parish clergy and Chaplains as a Pastoral Care Specialist and as a resource to the community.

Goals of the Art of Pastoral Care Course

The immediate goals of the course are threefold and directly effect the fulfillment of the mission of the AoPC.

• First: to teach the use of basic listening skills in a way that allows them to 'hear' the feelings of others with all of their senses.
• Second: to encourage and facilitate within each student a clearer understanding about their identity as pastoral caregivers and how life experiences and significant relationships inform their emotional and spiritual identity as caregivers.
• Third: to create an environment within which the skills taught in the course can be practiced within the classroom, in outside relationships, in congregational settings, and in hospital settings.

General Content of the Art of Pastoral Care Course

• Our 9-month program, which is divided into 3 terms, teaches Pastoral & Spiritual Assessment, Listening Skills, and provides experiences in supervised pastoral visitation.
• Meeting once a week, classes explore: Grief & Loss; Death & Dying; Suffering; Bioethics; Care of Self; Caring for Aging Parents; Divorce; Adolescence; Substance Abuse; Stress; Burnout & Depression; Personality Type & Spiritual Needs Assessment; Issues of Prejudice, and other relevant topics.
• Anyone, regardless of educational background or religious affiliation, who wants to learn about providing pastoral care and more about themselves as caregivers is welcome to enroll.

Secondary benefits of Art of Pastoral Care

• The AoPC acts as a process of discernment for many of its students.
• Students often become aware of how the experiences of their lives have strengthened and wounded them in a way that allows them to be open to professional counseling as a step towards healing and wholeness.
• Those who fully enter into the process within the AoPC program find that as they discover their vulnerabilities, they are better able to fully present with others in crisis.